Follow Sikh agenda, Dal Khalsa tells Akalis

Amritsar, Sep 14 (IANS) A radical Sikh organization, Dal Khalsa, Sunday asked the ruling Akali Dal in Punjab to take a cue from its alliance partner the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has resolved to pursue its Hindu agenda, to follow the Sikh agenda.Taking a cue from the BJP’s resolution adopted at its national executive meet at Bangalore to make the Hindu cause, Hindu symbols and Hindutva as its poll plank in the coming Lok Sabha elections, the Dal Khalsa asked the Akali Dal to follow the footsteps of its ally and revert to the Sikh agenda.

“It is ironical that the Akalis have dropped the Sikh agenda while their partners feel proud in sticking to the Hindu agenda. This shows the incompetence and weaknesses of the Akalis rather than their urge to portray themselves as a secular party,” said Dal Khalsa leaders Harcharnjit Singh Dhami and Kanwarpal Singh, president and general secretary of the organization, respectively.

“It is our earnest appeal to the Akali leadership to learn a lesson from its ally and revert to the Sikh agenda if they want to defeat the Congress,” the leaders added here.

Supporting Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray for his concern and viewpoint to safeguard the language and culture of Maharashtra, Kanwarpal Singh told IANS that the Dal Khalsa too was worried about the denigration of Punjabi and Sikh culture and language due to the influx of the migrants into Punjab in recent years.

Describing migration to Punjab as a demographic threat, he said this was crippling and polluting Punjab - its tradition, society and culture.

Singh sought regulation of the number of migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh coming to Punjab.